Fearful Normalcy
by Jaganashi
Summary: No good deed goes unpunished; Raphael is forced to share company with your average member of the human population. Rated for language.


Disclaimer: If I owned them, then this wouldn't be a fanfiction would it? Unfortunately I don't and this is.

**Fearful Normalcy**

Calloused feet padded along the rooftops of New York City, silent and swift. Dark shapes melded with the shadows, moving with the wind and without like some trick of the eye. Four ninja crept, leaped, and slipped through the overcast night. Using city structures as their familiar playground, their movements were smooth and well-oiled. A catch of a rail, the flip from a ledge; two figures lighted upon a small storage shed atop of an abandoned building.

_Creak.  
_

Four eyes widened as the wood moved beneath their weight, one ninja able to throw himself off of the small structure before it collapsed. The other, however, had lost his footing with the give of wood and the misplacement of his brother. He had reached out a hand, clutching for the quicker ninja, only to find empty air as he went down. It happened in mere moments, like a flash. Land, creak, collapse. Three silhouettes appeared around the pile of rubble, laughter coming from at least two. The other spoke in serious tones.

"Are you all right, Don?"

A three-fingered hand shoved off a plank of wood to tumble down the pile. Donatello's legs were askew among the splintered wood and tools that had been stowed and forgotten within the compromised shed. He lifted his head to free his arm from between a large white bucket and the shed's fallen roof, only to be yanked in his attempt. Somehow, a sweep of chicken wire had taken to his bandanna tails, entangling them in a snagging mess.

"I'm fine. I thought that we were going to jump together, Mike. You know...so as not to throw off the balance of the other."

This was said with a pointed glare, but was received with amusement. Mike gave a theatrical shrug. "Hey, you were too slow, bro. Besides, if a ninja makes a fool of himself and there's no one around to witness it..."

Don was quick to finish for him, "Then does he really get revenge?"

Leo had taken to scouring the area, making certain that the racket hadn't drawn any attention. They seemed safe on that front, for all of the businesses in the area had closed about an hour before. Ah, the 11 o'clock hour- early enough to head off the slime of the city, but late enough for some semblance of freedom. He was apt to notice the condition of the building in general, and was not comfortable with the assessment. It was a small building, no doubt built in the time that this area had been residential. That was...what? Four decades ago? It was probably older, if the crumbling ledges and glass-less windows were anything to go by. Just another eyesore for the city, no doubt tied up in insurance or inheritance paperwork and left to rot. The turtle shook his head; this building was a danger to any who would venture into it. Or onto it.

Leonardo turned to his brothers, noting the Don had extracted himself from the mess and was still giving Mike a solid glower. The eldest spoke in his quiet but level voice, the leader tone that indicated instruction. "The entire building is a hazard. We need to avoid it in the future."

Raph had leaped from the ledge at the tail end of Leo's words, some of the concrete crumbling in his wake. Donatello did a brief observation, noticing the stress cracks along the roof that indicated a failing support structure. He concurred that they were indeed lucky that it was only a storage shed that had given out on them. Making a mental note of its location, as well as the surrounding structures, the ninja followed his brothers to the next building and continued their training run.

It was short-lived, just a few buildings actually, before Raphael stopped the others with a raised hand. He was crouched near the ledge, peering over at the activities below. The others were quick and silent, curious as to what they would be breaking up that night. A robbery? A heist? Perhaps some Purple Dragons ripe for the kicking...

Within the bowels of the dimly lit alley, a scene was indeed taking place. Three guys, all in grungy wife beaters and thin overshirts of mismatched colors, had surrounded a woman who was fretfully pulling her apron pockets inside out. She didn't seem to be carrying a purse, and the waitressing uniform held no other pockets. The ninja on the rooftop were all betting that it wasn't money that these low-lifes were after.

Raphael nodded toward the mouth of the alley, where a fourth punk had taken to leaning against a dumpster. A lookout. Crime was often random, but not always stupid. Leonardo nodded and the red-banded ninja slipped off in that direction. The eldest then turned toward the other two, gave two quick hand signals, and they began to creep lower as a team.

"Please, please. I gave you all that I have!"

One man with bushy brows and a two day beard pulled out a nine millimeter slowly, as if it were some cherished item. The woman's eyes widened, her breath coming quicker. She tried to back away, only to be boxed in by the other two. Twin gleams told her that they were armed as well, with guns or knives or both. Her rosy makeup was becoming messed with the tears that had begun to travel down her face. One of the men made a grab at her from behind, wrapping strong fingers around her trembling wrist and twisting her around.

Several things happened at once. As soon as she had turned, there was a heavy thud from the man who had brandished the gun. The man in front of her, with his short-cropped blond hair, instantly released her. Without so much as two seconds passing, she was grabbed from behind again and pushed toward the wall so that she was out of the fray. Her hands hit brick as she stumbled, and it took a few moments to make out what she was seeing once she turned back. The man with the gun was on the ground, no longer moving. The man that had grabbed her wrist was keening, cradling his arm as it jutted at an awkward angle. The third man...the third man had just been struck in the chest by the foot of a short, stocky man. A man that looked ill-proportioned, at best.

She stepped closer out of morbid curiosity and got a real look at the nearest one. Short, wide, green. Horribly deformed somehow, or not at all human. Within just a few more moments of staring, three pairs of eyes peering right back at her through the dimness, she was certain beyond a doubt that they weren't human. What were the tabloids always raving about? Green scaly monsters in the sewers of New York? She'll never again call those publications garbage if she lived through this.

They were keeping their distance, and she was going to take advantage of that. Pushing off from the wall, she made a mad sprint out of the alley and rounded the corner with heels skidding. Her hair stood on end as she heard frantic footsteps behind her, chasing her. She didn't bother to look back, even as she heard voices in the near distance.

"For fuck's sake, the punk won't stay down!"

"Raph, no! Let him go!"

"He's gonna take her as insurance!"

She slipped on something, but managed to stay on her feet as she rounded another corner. The lookout, a little bruised and bloodied, was hot on her trail. No one would take him down if they had to go through the girl, right? Raphael was close behind them both, having practically read the thought on the punk's face. Somewhere behind the three of them were the others, trying to catch up to the action. It was a human chases dog chases cat chases mouse scene through the back alleys until the woman spotted a window without glass. Jumping blindly, she fell in through the window and searched for a hiding place. The streetlight nearby shone through the windows and time-eaten holes to give a distinguishable view of the room's musty interior.

Before she could decide on a hiding spot, there was scrambling at the same window that she had come in through. Whirling around, she found one of the earlier punks straightening himself and looking toward the window in panic.

As if right on cue, one of the inhuman forms came through. The movement was fluid, as if he had simply calculated and leaped without even grazing the sill. There were glints of metal as he brandished pronged weapons, giving the human male a feral grin. The man reached into his belt for something, but was stopped as a sai grazed his shoulder. He cried out sharply in pain, glaring in both fear and hate toward the other, who was still holding a weapon. That last observation making an impact on his judgment, the punk put both hands where they could be seen and made an unarmed dash toward the window. Raphael didn't move as the man dived head-first out of the building and assumedly ran off.

The labored breathing from the corner of the room drew his eyes back toward the woman, who was watching him as if he were some rabid dog. He knew better than to attempt it, honestly he did, but it didn't stop him from trying. "Are you ok?"

The woman was a mess, her clothes now dirty and her makeup ruined. Her hair had fallen loose from its bun, to hang in strands of...what was that color? Raph saw it as a mixture between yellow and brown. Dirty blond? He couldn't even guess at her age; truth be told, none of them were good at determining a human's age. What could he say? "They all look the same" seemed a bit contrite, but it did hold some truth to it. She could have been anywhere between her mid twenties, to her early forties. In any case, she was scared shit-less and obviously not responding. That was fine by him. He just needed to grab his sai, and he'd leave her to collect herself in this dusty and rusting hole.

_Creak  
_

Now there was a familiar and not at all comforting sound. The fact that it was followed by heavy, repetitive bangs was even less reassuring. It was coming from right outside- was someone striking the building? Raph shot toward the window just a moment too late, as the structure above it collapsed in. The disturbance sent tremors through the walls, filling the air with ominous creaking and snapping sounds. They were on the ground level of a building that was how many stories high? As Raphael did a quick mental check, he realized like a bucket of cold water to the face where they were. That damned compromised building that Leo had told them to stay away from. During their excursion through the back ways, the girl must have brought them right back to it!

He tried the only door that he had seen, finding his way to it by memory now that the light from the window was blocked from the collapsed debris. Locked. The banging continued as the boards shook; that punk mustn't have left as quickly as Raph had assumed. No, he just went far enough to grab a large beam or something, anything strong enough to tear at the building's already fragile structure. The bastard even thought to cave the window first.

There was another crash in the darkness as something else gave way, and the woman screamed from nearby. Fearing for the worse, Raph followed the sound and grabbed the girl, holding her beneath him as things fells from above and toppled in a racket. Unidentifiable things made contact with his shell, and there was a sharp rap on his leg. Through the chaos, small fists beat against his plastron as bloody murder was screamed into his ear. After a few breath-holding moments had passed, he could no longer hear any signs of collapse. Of course, there was still very prominent screaming for his hearing to contend with. He pulled away from her, bumping into something hard. A support beam, perhaps?

"It's over, lady! You can stop yer screaming!"

Raphael began to feel his way around the room, stepping over objects in the dark and trying to find an exit. The screaming had turned into hysterical sobs, some forming words that he could barely make out. God help me. About to die. Monster.

He gritted his teeth but said nothing, opting to give her plenty of space to calm down. He had found the door, and it would have been easy enough to clear the rubble out of the way, but the knob must have been knocked off at some point. Maybe he could pry at the right parts with his sai and unlock it? It was worth a try.

He seated himself on top of what was most likely a knocked over cabinet of some kind. He felt for the gap with his hand, then set the point of his weapon against the small, exposed parts. He was working blind, but it was still just a type of lock. He was good with locks.

A small voice, shaking and scared called out, "Are-are you still here?"

He couldn't help the snort that came. "No, I teleported outta here."

Silence. His brows knitted together in annoyance. He wasn't helping the situation by being curt with her, that was for sure. He heaved a heavy sigh as he continued to work at the metal bits of the door. "Yeah, I'm still here. Don't worry."

There was a shrill, nervous laugh from the other side of the room. Fear must have taken a turn to nerve-wracking adrenaline. "That's just what I was worried about!"

Okay, that was uncalled for. He just saved her fucking life, and she was worried that he was in the same room with her? "Trust me, lady. I'd be outta here in a heartbeat if I could."

There was a hiccuping sound. He couldn't decide if it was a derisive snort, or if she had just sobbed herself out of breath. Her voice had a distant quality to it, as if she were speaking out loud to herself. "Animals don't like being trapped."

His hand paused in its administrations and he glared in her general direction, hoping that the strength of it could penetrate the darkness. His voice was edgy, with a hint of the anger that simmered so close to the surface. "So I hear. I don't like it much either. Here's an idea: why don't we both sit here silently until I find a way to get us out."

Silence again. Good. If the woman didn't speak, she couldn't upset him and his focus could be all for finding a way out. The tip of the sai found a notch that seemed to be just right, so he twisted at it, trying to press the metal pieces apart.

"I'm a woman of Faith. Nothing you do to me will change the fact that the Lord is my savior, and through him, I have salvation."

Her words caused the tip to slip and the pieces to fall back into place. Raph let out a yell as he hammered the door with his fists in an outburst. "Dammit, lady! I'm not doing anything to you! I just saved your fucking life, and am trying to get us both out of here! Or did you not notice those goons about to rape you?"

Her voice had become stronger, though still frightened. She shuffled on the floor, kicking at rubble to clear a space for her legs. "You attacked those men, maybe even killed one of them. Oh my God...I was going to be the bonus!"

The turtle let out the most searingly annoyed growl, which the woman whimpered in response to. Fear. Ignorance. He tried to remind himself that she was just one of the millions of humans that didn't understand. Just as Master Splinter had always warned them about. From what he knew of religion, it taught tolerance and love through diversity. Wasn't there something about not judging? He also knew through world history that religion was only as empowering as those who wish to take it to heart. Here she was, waving around her 'faith,' yet going against it at the same time. He should have kept his mouth shut. But his focus was shot as it was, and he had never been very good at the whole keeping his opinion to himself thing. "I thought 'Faith' meant compassion, tolerance, and spiritual depth. From what you've shown me so far, you don't go any deeper than the skin."

Her voice was whispered, but matter-of-fact. Like a teacher explaining to a first grader that five plus two was seven. "God created man in his image, and the plants and animals were put on this earth to serve man. You're not a man, so that makes you an animal. It's okay; no one expects you to understand."

He clenched his hands tight enough that they were surely mottled. She was pretty insulting for someone who was supposedly terrified of what he may do. He sucked in a breath, held it, exhaled. Sucked in another, held it, exhaled. His muscles were still sprung tight with tension, but he really couldn't afford to release any more fury on the building. They needed another cave-in like he needed, well, a religious lecture. Raph spoke slowly, his voice grating on every word. "I've seen people debate religion before- it ain't pretty. I don't want to go there."

He had to remember who he was dealing with. Most people were afraid of the odd ones out there, the psychos. No, the Hamato family had to worry over everyone else: the average person was their idea of a loose cannon. Ignorant. Prejudice. Hateful. Human.

He didn't want to hear another word, not another fucking word.

"You know, I'm sure that there are a lot of people out there that would take really good care of you. There are zoo exhibits that look like you just stepped into a natural habitat."

Just. Ignore. It.

"You'd always be fed, and safe, and you'd get all of your shots..."

Breath in. Breath out. Why was he seeing red, when everything was pitch black?

"And best of all, you'd be off of public streets. Public's no place for something like yourself."

That was it, the final straw that broke the camel's back. Snapped it, right into two. Just like Raph's control. The lack of light meant that his rage could not be seen, but it still permeated the air like a heavy, chocking energy. His voice was practically yelling, scalding, _scathing_.

"Oh, and who's public would that be? Humans? See, I was under the impression that no one owned public things. No one owns the world. But no, Humans have their grubby, greedy hands in everything! I can't walk in the fucking sunshine because it's yours. I can't step anywhere without watching my back because all that empty space belongs to you! And I'm just trespassing in it! I can't swim in a lake because it's for humans and things that humans can watch. I have to pick at the food that you discard, because you've monopolized every resource! I can't travel, can't walk along the beach. My brothers can't visit science conventions and comic book shows and enjoy the entertainment of a geisha party. You pompous, greedy, self-absorbed de-evolved excuse for a race, it's like you OWN the fucking world!"

When she finally spoke, she sounded genuinely confused. Frightened, a little hesitant, and sincerely perplexed. "Then you understand after all..."

A strangled cry of anger, contempt, and most of all misery crawled from his throat like some ravaged beast. It was too much, just too much. If he had to spend just one more moment trapped with...

Light. There were sounds of rubble falling away from a widening gap of light. He heard scrambling from the other side of the room, then the light was blocked; the woman had run toward it and was frantically trying to squeeze her way through as the people on the other side helped her out. Raphael had a moment of fearing that an emergency rescue team had been called, but the woman's sobbing yells for help reassured him. Those were his brothers on the other side.

Some shell-scrapping and heavy heaving later, Raph was finally free of the personal hell he had been thrust into. There was no sight more endearing than that of his brothers, his kind, gathered around and patting him to make certain that he was all right. Don fussed over nonexistent injuries. Mike worried over who would have helped him beat the next level of Bloodrayne. Leo just looked on with poorly-hidden relief. Raphael reveled in the green skin, scutes, and a shared minority struggle like none imagined. He wanted nothing more than to trudge home, away from the sights and smells and sounds of humanity.

Pale arms pushed between the bodies of his brothers. He recognized the fiery hair atop a tall and slender form, her green eyes bright with relief. She wrapped those arms around him tightly, squeezing him like a lost brother. Her soft voice was mumbling about worry, and digging, and being so very upset. There was a hearty slap on his shell and an accompanying gruff voice. "Geez, Raph. Call me next time you decide to go spelunking, will ya?"

Okay, so the _entire_ race weren't dangerous bigots. Yeah, some of them were actually pretty awesome. The eccentric antique shop owner, the weirdo vigilante; they were the saving grace of the species.


End file.
